James Neal is NHL's poster boy for bad discipline, more must-read stories

Summary of 2 articles · Updated Mar 24, 2014

• James Neal of the Penguins is the poster child for everything that’s wrong with NHL discipline, says former referee Paul Stewart. Underscoring the “doesn’t get it” notion: That Neal has battled through his own concussions, and plays on the same team as … (more)Sidney Crosby, who’s still the poster boy for them in the NHL. • The great Dave Stubbs offers up an absolute must-read today with his recreation of the longest game ever played. Former NHL referee Paul Stewart got us thinking about Neal again with an incendiary column on HockeyBuzz* that calls out Neal for his head-hunting and his embellishment: James Neal didn’t deserve a suspension for his cross-check to the head of Luke Glendening of the Detroit Red Wings last week, an act that earned the Pittsburgh Penguins forward a $5,000 fine. It’s how he got hurt that reveals how poorly coach John Tortorella has managed his assets this season and explains why he likely won’t be back behind Vancouver’s bench next season.

James Neal is everything that’s wrong with NHL, according to former ref

James Neal didn’t deserve a suspension for his cross-check to the head of Luke Glendening of the Detroit Red Wings last week, an act that earned the Pittsburgh Penguins forward a $5,000 fine. There was no injury, and the impact of his stick wasn’t exact…